Math News & Events

Congratulations to the Math Department professors and instructor for their nominations for the 2018 Faculty and Academic Staff Awards! Following are the nominees and the respective awards for which they were nominated:

Xueqing Chen Outstanding Research Award

Huckleberry Rahr Excellence Award for Instructional Academic Staff

Fe Evangelista Everett Long Award for the Advancement of General Education

Additional congratulations and cheers go out to Fe Evangelista for winning the Everett Long Award for the Advancement of General Education!

2018 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Department of Mathematics scholarships! The recipients received their awards at the Science and Mathematics Awards Ceremony and Reception that was held on April 24.

Mark and Dianne Fiebrink Scholarship

Carroll and Kay Flanagan Scholarship

William C. Beck Scholarship

Marion B. Schlicher Scholarship

Clayton Droullard Mathematics Scholarship

Stephen Lewandowski Mathematics Scholarship (for Incoming Freshman)

Carroll and Kay Flanagan Scholarship (for Incoming Freshman)

Joy Salentine

BALA PANDIYAN IS STUDENT ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR FOR MAA

Dr. Bala Pandiyan was the student activities coordinator for this year’s MAA (Mathematical Association of America) meeting held at UW-Eau Claire. To engage the students, he created a problem solving quiz contest. The quiz had four problems with varying difficulties, which he handpicked from various sources, such as the Purdue problem solving website, mathematical circle library, and books. The winner of this contest received the book entitled “Writing Proofs in Analysis“ by Jonathan Kane.

He also engaged the students with the life story of Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar’s and discussing his mathematical work in number theory. For this purpose, Dr. Pandiyan created a poster, “A Brief Story of Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar (1887 – 1920). Stop by the Mathematics Department to check out this amazing and informative poster.

A Brief Story of Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar (1887 – 1920)

By Balamurgan Pandiyan, Ph.D

DR. GEETHA SAMARANAYAKE AND DR. KHYAM PANERU

PRESENT RESEARCH AT COLLOQUIUM

Drs. Geetha Samaranayake and Khyam Paneru will be presenting the results of their research at a colloquium to be held on Wednesday, April 11, at 2 pm in HH1310.

Abstract

Japanese Lesson Study is an established professional development mechanism for teachers. Lesson study projects are done in a rich variety of disciplines in both school and college environments worldwide and involves groups of teachers collaboratively designing a lesson via a strict protocol. The question often asked is, “Does the collective design of a single lesson contribute to noteworthy and lasting teacher change?” Our study answers this question through a robust statistical analysis of school and college teacher surveys and the inspection of student performance data. We conclude that significant teacher change occurs as a result of this collaborative exercise.

DR. COREY BRUNS TO PRESENT AT SPACE PLACE

April 2018

Dr. Corey Bruns will be the guest speaker at Space Place on April 10, 2018 from 7:00-8:00 pm. The title of his presentation is: "Measuring Starlight Deflection During the 2017 Eclipse: Completing the Experiment that Made Einstein Famous". Dr. Bruns viewed the August 21 total solar eclipse with modern equipment to do a sort of historical reenactment/experiment.

Space Place is an outreach center of the UW-Madison Astronomy Department located at 2300 S. Park Street in Madison. This presentation is free and open to the public.

OKLAHOMA BOUND

April 2018

Mathematics majors Benjamin Stockton, Brandon Allen, and Collin Kannenberg will be presenting their undergraduate research projects at NCUR, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, at the University of Central Oklahoma in the first week of April. All three students are math majors with statistics emphasis. Following is a list of their presentations:

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT REPRESENTED AT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY

March 2018

Mathematics majors and faculty participated in UW-W’s 23rd Annual Undergraduate Research Day on March 22. We are pleased to announce that Morgan Butler and Conner Yass (mentor Aditi Ghosh) won top prize in the Physical and Computer Sciences category for their poster Modeling a North Forest Ecosystem. Congratulations!

Following is a list of the projects by mathematics majors and/or faculty for Undergraduate Research Day:

The Effect of Gang Prevalence on Academic Achievement of Area Children, Taylor Griffith

Mentor: David Welsch)

The Impact of Alcohol Access on Health, Brandon Rust

Mentor: Yuhan Xue

A Non-linear Approach to Modeling Quantity and Price Elasticity of Demand and Other Tangential Results, Pasan Samaranayake, Ryan Schroeder

Mentor: Leon Arriola

Using Test Cases to Assess Machine Learning Tools, Seungwon Seo

Mentor: Hien Nguyen)

Thank you to all presenters on a job well done!

WHITEWATER MATH CIRCLE

March 2018

The UW-W Mathematics Department hosted a six-week Whitewater Math Circle program for area middle school students. A math circle is an enrichment program for students who are interested in mathematics. Faculty presented topics not usually covered in the middle school curriculum with an emphasis on problem-solving, exploration, and investigation, rather than learning mathematical facts.

March 2018

September 2017

Please join us in welcoming Raju Prasad Bhusal to the UW-W campus. Raju has recently been hired as a Lecturer in the Mathematics Department. He earned his Masters in Mathematics at Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and is an Applied Math Ph.D. candidate at Bowling Green State University in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

In his free time, Raju likes to play football and volleyball. He is also involved in social work and community service.

Thomas McFarland Retires After 50 years

May 2017

Tom McFarland retired at the end of the Spring 2017 semester after 50 years of dedicated service to the Department of Mathematics and the UW Whitewater College. Tom started his career at UW-W in 1966 as an Assistant Professor in Mathematics. During his tenure, he also served as a Visiting Professor of Mathematics at University of Natal (1982) and University of Zululand (1987), both of which are located in South Africa. In addition, Tom created a website for algebra, calculus, and finite math which includes interactive word problems and self-grading online tests. This website is used in the classroom and available to students outside of class for additional practice. In 2000, he earned the LIGHTSPAN Award for outstanding math website; and in 2009 he earned the INTUTE Award (Great Britain) for outstanding math website.

We’d like to thank Tom for his dedication and achievements over the years and wish him the best in his retirement.

Dr. Corey Bruns to deliver Colloquium

Dr. Corey Bruns, from the UW-W Mathematics Department, will be delivering a most intriguing colloquium next Wednesday, September 20, at 2:00 pm. The talk will be in Heide Hall room 216. We hope you can attend. Corey's title and abstract follow.

Title: "Measuring Starlight Deflection During the 2017 Eclipse: Completing the Experiment that Made Einstein Famous"

Abstract: In 1919, Sir Arthur Eddington traveled to Africa to test Einstein's theory of General Relativity; specifically, a prediction that the Sun's gravity would bend starlight by about twice as much as Newtonian physics would predict. This could be measured by using a telescope to image stars near the sun during a total solar eclipse. He was able to take 3 images, and using 2 of them, announced that Einstein's theory was confirmed. Subsequent analysis of all 3 images indicates that this conclusion wasn't clear cut; the margin of error really was as large as the size of the effect. Similar experiments were carried out in 1922, 1947, 1952, 1954, and 1973 without much improvement in results. A space-based telescope, which does not need an eclipse, was able to measure the effect with very high precision in the 1980s; so the science is settled. What's not settled is if it is possible to measure this effect from the ground - is it possible to get better precision with 21st century technology? Digital cameras have the huge advantage of being more sensitive than chemical film, but have the disadvantage of discrete pixels. We went to Casper Mountain, Wyoming during the August 21 total solar eclipse with modern equipment to do a sort of historical reenactment/experiment. Can we use statistics on hundreds of images to see starlight deflection from the ground?

New Faculty member – WESLEY HOUGH

August 2017

Please join us in welcoming Wesley Hough to the UW-W campus. Wesley has recently been hired as an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department. He graduated with his B.A. in Mathematics & Economics from Hanover College and earned both his Masters and his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Kentucky. Wesley is also a Project Next Fellow for 2017. His primary research interests are in topological combinatorics, a subfield of mathematics devoted to using creative counting techniques to study multi-dimensional space. In particular, he uses discrete Morse theory to smoothly deform objects and study their most essential spatial properties. A classic example of what he does is thinking about how to morph a coffee mug into a doughnut. In his free time, Wesley likes to binge-watch crime dramas on Netflix with his cat, Cairo. He also enjoys reading, playing board and video games, and has recently taken up crochet.

New Faculty member – aditi ghosh

Please join us in welcoming Aditi Ghosh to the UW-W campus. Aditi has recently been hired as anAssistant Professor in theMathematics Department. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and did her post-doctorate work at Simon Fraser University and University of Idaho. Aditi’s research interest lies in Applied Mathematics with application in Bio-Mathematics. She is currently working on the mathematical modeling of Acetaminophen metabolism and liver injury, its overdose effect along with alcohol ingestion with Dr. Chris Remien and the Acute Liver Failure Study Group. In her free time, Aditi enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and gardening.

COLLIN KANNENBERG REPRESENTS UW-WHITEWATER AT CONFERENCE

Collin Kannenberg is a mathematics major with an emphasis in statistics. His mentor is Dr. Khyam Paneru. Collin did a poster presentation at the Great Lakes Analytics in Sports Conference on July 13 entitled Hendricks vs. Scherzer: A Comparable Analysis Using Spin Rates and Pitch Tunneling. Following is the description included in the conference program: “The 2016 MLB season witnessed some incredible pitching from the entire league. There was much attention paid to the National League Cy Young Award race in particular. The front running candidates included the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, and Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.This presentation focuses on the comparison between Hendricks and Scherzer. Hendricks made his name by putting up an incredible ERA among other surface-level stats. Scherzer on the other hand did not have as good surface-level stats as Hendricks, yet won the Cy Young Award. This presentation compares both pitchers by the use of spin rates and pitch tunneling data courtesy of Baseball Savant and Baseball Prospectus, respectively. By looking into how these pitchers compare in these two metrics, it gives a better illustration of what pitcher is more difficult to hit. Surface-level stats such as ERA, WHIP, and HR/9 among others give an overall description of how a pitcher is doing, but does not consider the pitches themselves and how difficult they are to hit.The Cy Young award should go to the pitcher that is most difficult to hit during the course of the entire season, and that pitcher was Max Scherzer.”

Congratulations to Our 2017 Math Scholarship Awardees

Mathematics scholarships for 2017-18 were awarded to continuing students at the Science and Mathematics Scholarship and Awards Ceremony on April 20, 2017. The awardees were:

Math students present undergraduate research results

Five UW-Whitewater math majors were among the students making presentations at the Fall Undergraduate Research Day on September 27, held in the Hamilton Center at the UC.

Ryan Schroeder presented his work, "Quantum Mechanics and Mathematical Biology." Ryan's faculty mentors are Leon Arriola in the Mathematics Department and Paul House in the Chemistry Department.

Robert (Noah) Padgett presented "Antibiotic Resistance in Beef Cattle: The Effects of Culling and Quarantine." This is an independently funded project. Noah's faculty mentors are Christopher Kribs, University of Texas-Arlington; Leon Arriola, UW-Whitewater Mathematics Department; and Feresteh Nazari, Arizona State University.

Alissa Zawacki, a Psychology major, and Noah Padgett co-presented "Assessing Intervention Effectiveness in Walworth County's Health and Human Services." Their faculty mentor is Meg Waraczynski of the Department of Psychology.

Brent Zey, who is majoring in Economics, French, and Mathematics-Statistics, presented "Importance of Access to Financing for Small Businesses in Wisconsin." Brent's faculty advisor is Eylem Ersal-Kiziler of the Department of Economics (College of Business and Economics).

Ravon Bonds, a McNair Scholar, presented "Perceived Reliability of Consumer Ratings and Reviews." Ravon's faculty mentor is Robert Boostrom of the Marketing department (College of Business and Economics).

Antwanette Bounds, a McNair Scholar, presented "Self-Efficacy in Mathematics." Antwanette's faculty Mentor is Laura Porterfield from the Department of Educational Foundations (College of Education and Professional Studies).

UW-W math majors present at MAA Wisconsin section meeting

APRIL 22-23, 2016

Three math majors presented the results of their undergraduate research projects at the MAA Wisconsin section meeting held at UW La Crosse, April 22-23, 2016.

Freshman Eric Lawson, mentored by Dr. Pawel Felcyn, presented "The Complete Bell Polynomial of a Product." Robert (Noah) Padgett, a junior with a double major in mathematics and psychology and mentored by Dr. Khyam Paneru, presented "Zero-Inflated Populations in Applications: Examples, Analysis, and Modeling." Jon Scott, a senior with a computer science minor mentored by Dr. Xueqing Chen, presented "Representation Theory of Quivers: Approach from Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra." The projects were supported by the university's Office of Undergraduate Research; in particular, Eric Lawson and Noah Padgett received a grant from the Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP).

UWW's team of Evan Czysz, Joshua Day, Padgett, and Scott Pegelow placed second out of 10 teams in the "Face-Off" competition, a Jeopardy-style contest. Seven students and 6 faculty/academic staff from the mathematics department attended the conference. UW-Whitewater mathematics instructor Thomas Drucker, past Chair of the WI Section, also gave a presentation on "An Instance of John Wallis."

UW-Whitewater hosted the Section Meetings in 2014 and 2006.

2016 Mathematics Scholarship Awardees

APRIL 21, 2016

Mathematics scholarships for 2016-17 were awarded to continuing students at the Science and Mathematics Scholarship and Awards Ceremony on April 21, 2016. The awardees were:

College-level awards will be presented at a later date. Mathematics students who received awards in this category include Evan Czysz, the Letters and Sciences Promise Endowment; Regan McCauley (math education), the Metcalf Family Scholarship; Robert (Noah) Padgett, the Letters and Sciences Promise Endowment; Brent Zey, the Dahle Family Memorial Scholarship; and Drew Zeimetz, the Chuck and Martha Heinrich Scholarship.